Emergency AC Repair in Corpus Christi, TX

People first

Heat is dangerous, especially for older adults, babies and young children, people with heart or lung conditions, and pets. If your AC fails during a hot spell:

• Close blinds and curtains on sunny windows, and keep doors closed.
• Use fans to move air, and drink water.
• Move vulnerable people to a cooler place: a relative's or neighbor's home, a library, a shopping center, or a public cooling center if the city has opened them.
• Call 911 if anyone shows signs of heat stroke: confusion, hot dry skin or very high body temperature, fainting.

Protect the equipment

1. If the outdoor unit hums but the fan is not spinning, turn the system off at the thermostat. A compressor that cannot shed heat can be damaged.
2. If the lines or indoor coil are iced, turn cooling off and run the fan only until it thaws.
3. If water is dripping from the ceiling or pouring out of a closet unit, turn the system off, put a bucket or towels down, and if you can safely reach the drain pan in the attic, check whether it is full.
4. If you smell burning plastic or electrical burning, turn the system off at the thermostat and the breaker. If there is smoke, get out and call 911.
5. If you smell gas near a furnace or anywhere in the house, leave and call 911 and Corpus Christi Gas, (361) 885-6942, from outside (Corpus Christi Gas, Gas Emergencies).

Quick checks that sometimes fix it

• Thermostat set to cool and below room temperature, with fresh batteries.
• A clean air filter.
• Breakers for the indoor and outdoor units, and the disconnect next to the outdoor unit.
• A tripped condensate float switch: if the drain pan is full, the system may have shut itself off. Clearing the drain may restore cooling.

After a storm or power outage

When power comes back after an outage, surges and brownouts can damage control boards and compressors. Ready.gov suggests unplugging appliances and electronics during an outage to avoid surge damage (Ready.gov, Power Outages); for central AC, switching it off at the thermostat until power is stable has a similar effect. If the outdoor unit was underwater, do not run it until it has been checked: flood water and salt water damage electrical parts and motors. AEP Texas posts outage maps and restoration updates (AEP Texas, Outages).

When you send the form

Choose "Urgent: no cooling in extreme heat," and tell us what the system is doing, its age if you know it, and whether anyone in the home is at higher risk from heat. We'll call you back to talk through next steps. We can't promise a specific arrival time, so take care of people and the equipment first.

Related guides

• Hurricane Season and Your AC: A Corpus Christi Guide

Sources: Ready.gov, Power Outages; AEP Texas, Outages; Corpus Christi Gas, Gas Emergencies.